West Papua Report

February 2012

This is the 94th in a series of monthly
reports that focus on developments affecting Papuans. This
series is produced by the non-profit West Papua Advocacy
Team (WPAT) drawing on media accounts, other NGO
assessments, and analysis and reporting from sources within
West Papua. This report is co-published with the East Timor
and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN). Back issues are
posted online at
http://www.etan.org/issues/wpapua/default.htm Questions
regarding this report can be addressed to Edmund McWilliams
at edmcw@msn.com. If you
wish to receive the report via e-mail, send a note to
etan@etan.org.

Summary: The trial of five
Papuans who led a peaceful demonstration in October
2011 demanding Papuans' right to self determination
has begun. There has been no prosecution of security
forces who brutally attacked that demonstration,
killing at least three peaceful demonstrators and
beating scores more. The U.S. State Department
called on the Indonesian authorities to ensure due
process for those indicted and urged that Indonesia
respect its international legal obligations related
to the trial. Human Rights Watch, for its part,
called for the release of the five Papuans who are
being tried under an archaic "subversion" provision
of the criminal code. WPAT presents an exclusive
report on efforts by the Indonesian special forces,
Kopassus, to organize a propaganda campaign on West
Papua. The campaign targets the U.S. and other
governments for purportedly seeking to exert
influence there. In its annual report, Human Rights
Watch describes a worsening environment for human
rights in West Papua. Reporters without Borders, in
another global review, notes the growing threat to
journalists in West Papua. The Asian Human Rights
Commission reports on new Indonesian security force
torture of Papuan civilians. The Indonesian
government is colluding with Interpol in an effort
to arrest prominent Papuan dissident Benny Wenda.
Indonesian joins a number of repressive regimes
attempting to use Interpol to silence critics.
Jakarta has announced plans for a massive road
building scheme in West Papua which will facilitate
developers access to virgin forest areas. A
revealing report by the Jakarta Globe explores the
prevalence of illiteracy among Papuan children, even
in urban areas, and notes the central government's
persistent failure to provide educational services
to Papuans. The Government has again announced plans
to create a new Papuan province, a step which will
further divert funds from essential services for
Papuans.

The
trial of six West Papuan leaders who played the leading
roles in the October 16-19, 2011 convening of the Third
Papuan National Congress (see
November 2011 West
Papua Report ) began January 30 in Jayapura. The trial
was adjourned shortly after it began and will resume on
February 8. Over 300 people were initially detained as
the Papuan Congress concluded 19 October 2011. An assault on
the entirely peaceful gathering by Indonesian security
forces led to the death of at least three participants and
the beating of many more. No security forces have been
prosecuted for that assault.

Six people have been detained since October 19, 2011; five
of the six face charges of subversion under Section 106
paragraph 53 and 55 of the Indonesian Criminal Code. The use
of these charges to suppress peaceful dissent date back to
the Dutch colonial times and have frequently been employed
by the Dutch, the Suharto dictatorship and even successive
democratic regimes. The provisions violate Indonesia's
obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights and the Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights as well as the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights.

The six detainees are: Forkorus Yaboisembut, Dominikus
Surabut, Edison Waromi, Selphius Bobii, Agus Sananay, and
Gat Wenda. Five of the six are charged with subversion:
Wenda is only charged with carrying a concealed weapon.

The United States
State Department publicly called on Indonesia to "ensure
due process" and to observe its "international legal
obligations for those indicted." The U.S. also urged
Indonesia to "work with the indigenous Papuan population to
address their grievances, resolve conflicts peacefully and
support development in the Papuan provinces."

The United States "recognizes and respects the territorial
integrity of Indonesia within its current borders, which
include the provinces of Papua and West Papua," the
spokesperson added.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has demanded that Indonesia
drop the charges against the five Papuans. The New
York-based rights group said Indonesian security forces had
used "excessive force" including batons and firearms to
break up a pro-independence assembly in the provincial
capital Jayapura last October, killing at least three people
and injuring more than 90. HRW noted the injustice that
while eight police officers were let off with written
warnings for disciplinary infractions, the five Papuan
leaders are charged with treason. "The Indonesian government
should show its commitment to peaceful expression by
dropping the charges against these five Papuan activists,"
the group's Asia deputy director Elaine Pearson said in a
statement. "It's appalling that a modern democratic nation
like Indonesia continues to lock up people for organizing a
demonstration and expressing controversial views," she
added. Pursuing the trial would "only deepen the resentment
that many Papuans feel against the government", Pearson
said.

HRW also urged Indonesia to release at least 15 other
Papuans, including independence leader Filep Karma, and
about 60 others mostly Maluku activists, over "peaceful acts
of free expression." Rights groups accuse Indonesia of gross
human rights abuses in Papua, a Melanesian-majority region
rich in natural resources where poorly armed rebels have
been fighting for independence for decades. Jakarta denies
the allegations but severely limits access by foreign media
or aid workers into the remote eastern province to conduct
independent inquiries.

More than 100 people are currently imprisoned in Indonesia
for peacefully promoting separatism in Indonesia, most of
them from Papua or the eastern Maluku islands, according to
Human Rights Watch.

WPAT
EXCLUSIVE: Kopassus Organizes
Propaganda Offensive Targeting U.S.
and Other International
Interests Regarding West Papua

Indonesia's Special Forces (Kopassus)
organized a week-long training program for two dozen
bloggers and journalists at their headquarters in Jakarta
late November, 2011. Trainees were warned about alleged
foreign interference in West Papua, including by the U.S.
and other governments. According to its website, the
Indonesian Association of Citizen Reporters (Persatuan
Pewarta Warga Indonesia, PPWI ), jointly organized the
training with Kopassus Group III/Sandhi Yudha or the 'Secret
War' group. The group has a section called the 'Papua Desk.'

The PPWI website shows Kopassus group commander Col. Izak
Pangemanan
shaking hands with Wilson Lalengke, PPWI chairman.
According to some trainees' Facebook accounts and the
syllabus, the training included several components including
one about separatism in West Papua. A trainee Facebook
account showed Kopassus had also recently sent around 250
officers to Papua.

Mahar Prastowo, a PPWI deputy chairman, played a central
role by liaising with Kopassus for the program, where he
gave a talk about Papua, saying that he had approached
Forkorus Yaboisembut, the chairman of the Papua Customary
Council, and Buchtar Tabuni, the chairman of the West Papua
National Committee.

Trainees came from Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan and Sulawesi,
but included no Papuans. The training program was intended
to counter international news reporting about West Papua
which is seen as critical of Jakarta policy and Indonesian
military conduct in West Papua.

At the training, Mahar Prastowo contended that the United
States is stirring unrest in West Papua. He cited President
Barack Obama's decision to deploy 2500 marines to Darwin,
Australia. Prastowo also said there is a "paradigm shift" in
suppressing independence movement in Papua. He encouraged
the PPWI trainees to get involved in the information war. On
his Twitter feed (@maharprastowo), he criticized mining
giant Freeport McMoRan which he said had taken out most of
the gold and copper from Papua's Grasberg mine, while only
giving Indonesia only one percent of the income.

Prastowo
told the trainees to help create "a common enemy" of the
Papuans and the Indonesians. Prastowo described this common
enemy as "ABDA," representing American, British, Dutch and
Australian interests. Trainees were encouraged to use their
Twitter, Facebook and blogs to fight "foreign agents in
Papua. On his Facebook account "Mahar Writerpreneur," he
uploaded a cartoon of four Caucasian men, supposedly to
represent ABDA, eating resources from the Grasberg mine.

PPWI chairman Wilson Lalengke has issued 100 PPWI press
cards for Kopassus officers. The training program was mainly
financed by the Ministry of Defense. In addition to the
training assistance, Kopassus will help bloggers and
journalists cover Papua by providing logistical support to
include transportation.

Prastowo's blog indicates that he has some sort of an
association to the Jakarta-based Islam Defenders Front
(Front Pembela Islam, FPI). He posted some FPI
announcements. The hardline FPI for years has engaged in
thuggish attacks on businesses and others it does not
approve of. The FPI is believed to have official backing.

In its
annual review of human rights observance and violation
around the world, Human Rights Watch focused significantly
on developments in West Papua. West Papua related excerpts
follow:

In August internal military
documents - mainly from Kopassus, Indonesia's special
forces -were made public, exposing how the Indonesian
military monitors peaceful activists, politicians, and
religious clergy in Papua. The documents show the deep
military paranoia in Papua that conflates peaceful
political expression with criminal activity. Several of
those named in the documents as targets have faced
arrest, imprisonment, harassment, or other forms of
violence.

Access to Papua in 2011 remained tightly controlled. Few
foreign journalists and human rights researchers can
visit independently without close monitoring of their
activities. Since October the vice president's office
has set up the Unit to Accelerate Development in Papua
and West Papua, which is focused on economic
development. Its board members include some veterans of
peace talk over Aceh.

In July over 500 representatives of Papuan civil society
met at a peace conference in Jayapura, organized by a
government-funded peace-initiative network.

Violence in Papua worsened in July and August with
several unrelated attacks in which more than two dozen
people were killed or seriously injured. Seventeen
people were killed in Puncak Jaya in July when two rival
political camps clashed in an election dispute.

In Puncak Jaya there has been a long insurgency between
the Free Papua Organization (OPM) and the Indonesian
military. The OPM commander in Puncak Jaya claimed
responsibility for several attacks against the
Indonesian military in July, including one in which an
Indonesian military chopper was shot down, injuring
seven soldiers and killing one.

In October security forces used excessive violence when
arresting more than 300 Papuans involved in a three-day
Papuan Congress. At least three men were killed and more
than 90 were injured. Six Papuan leaders were charged
with treason.

International
Journalists Underscore Security
Targeting of Journalists in West Papua

Bambang Eka Cahya Widodo, chairman of Indonesia's Elections
Supervisory Board (Bawaslu),
told media that journalists were sometimes targeted
because of their election coverage. He cited the case of a
journalist in Merauke, Papua, who was stabbed while
reporting on an electoral dispute there last year.

WPAT Comment: The United Nations, foreign officials and
human rights organizations have long been critical of
Indonesia's ongoing efforts to prevent international
monitoring of human rights violations in West Papua. The
measures employed by Jakarta include restrictions on travel
to and within West Papua by international journalists, human
rights monitors and humanitarian agencies. The International
Committee of the Red Cross remain banned from re-opening its
offices in West Papua. But perhaps the most insidious tactic
employed by Jakarta is the targeting of Indonesian
journalists and human rights workers by Indonesian security
forces. Reporters Without Borders has performed an important
service in drawing attention to security force intimidation,
brutalization and murder of Indonesian journalists.

Military Officers
Arbitrarily Arrest and Torture
Civilians Based on False Claims of Rebel Activity

The Asian Human Rights Commission, January 26,
issued an urgent appeal (Urgent
Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-005-2012) regarding
the Indonesian military's brutalization of a dozen Papuans,
including three local activists, in Kurulu, West Papua, in
early November 2011. The assault on these civilians was
related to unsubstantiated claims of rebel activity in the
area. In an appeal to the international community, the AHRC
noted that civilians are "frequently victimized based on
arbitrary allegations of rebellion, and subsequently
tortured."

Members
of the military that commit crimes against civilians, such
as extrajudicial killings or torture, can only be held
accountable by military justice systems. Military courts are
not open to the public, are notorious for only giving
lenient punishments, and show a clear lack of impartiality.

The incident followed a false allegation
initially passed to a pro-Jakarta militia of a meeting
between the Papuan armed resistance OPM and villagers from
Umpagalo village in Kurulu district. Local military
personnel of the 176/ Kurulu military headquarters reacted
to the unsubstantiated report by going to Umpagalo at around
11pm. "They beat three local activists, Melianus Wantik, Edo
Doga and Markus Walilo, as well as nine villagers, Pilipus
Wantik, Wilem Kosy, Elius Dabi, Lamber Dabi, Othi Logo,
Nilik Hiluka, Hukum Logo, Martinus Mabel and Saulus Logo,
then stabbed them with bayonets for two hours, forced them
to crawl and doused them with water for one hour. The
officers also humiliated, beat with wood sticks, kicked and
stepped on them with their boots, pointed their guns and
threatened that they would cut their heads, and shot at them
four times."

The troops then transported the victims to the 176 military
headquarters and after several hours delay, they were
released without charges. The victims? colleagues complained
to the Kurulu sector police following the incident, but the
police refused to process the complaint claiming there was
no substantial evidence to prove the allegations. More
importantly, the police have no capacity to investigate or
prosecute military personnel under terms of the law on
military courts (Law No. 31 of 1997).

The AHRC observed that security force use of torture against
indigenous Papuans is widespread, often targeting persons
suspected of supporting independence movements. "Such
suspicions are often leveled arbitrarily against members of
the indigenous community and result in stigmatisation." AHRC
added: "according to the law on military courts, members of
the military that commit crimes against civilians, such as
extrajudicial killings or torture, can only be held
accountable by military justice systems. Military courts are
not open to the public, are notorious for only giving
lenient punishments, and show a clear lack of impartiality."
AHRC called for a joint investigation of the incident by the
Indonesian military (TNI) and the National Human Rights
Commission (Komnas HAM).

Interpol
Lends Its Resources to Indonesian Efforts to Silence
Dissident

Interpol has issued a "red notice" for Benny
Wenda, a prominent Papuan dissident who has been granted
asylum in the U.K. on political grounds.

The Interpol action against Wenda is similar to other
actions targeting prominent dissidents legally living
outside their home countries. The Interpol alert system is
increasingly being employed to serve the interests of often
repressive regimes seeking to silence their critics.

A lawsuit alleging that some oppressive regimes are
using Interpol's alert system to harass or detain opponents
is being planned by rights activists and lawyers in the
United Kingdom. Campaigners say that some government
fabricate criminal charges against those who have taken
refuge in other countries and then seek their arrest through
Interpol "red notices."

The notices are meant to alert member police forces that an
Interpol member state has issued an arrest warrant, but some
countries will take seize suspects based on the "red notice"
alone. There are about 26,000 outstanding.

According to the Jakarta Post, Indonesia's Public Works
Ministry is allocating Rp 3.6 trillion (US$399 million) to
build a "Trans-Papua Highway." Planned road construction
would be among the largest undertaken in Indonesia. he aim
of the Trans-Papua Highway is purportedly to connect
isolated areas in Papua's central highlands to Wamena,
Habema, Kenyam, and Batas Batu, as well as the Asmat regency
on the south coast. The plan would also include two other
road projects within the "Master Plan for Acceleration and
Expansion of Indonesian Economic Development" (MP3EI),
involving roads linking Timika in the Mimika regency and
Enarotali in the Paniai regency, and those linking Merauke
with Tanah Merah in the Bouven Digoel regency. Government
spokespersons claim that the government aims to build 70
percent of a total of 3,100 kilometers of national road in
Papua and West Papua by 2014.

WPAT COMMENT: Such massive road development poses both
positive and negative consequences. Improved access to
markets for local farmers and industries could be a boon to
isolated Papuan villages and towns. Papuans generally will
also benefit from improved access to essential services and
employment opportunities often lacking in rural areas of
West Papua. On the other hand, such road development also
expands the opportunity for illegal enterprises,
particularly illegal logging operations, to exploit Papuan
natural resources. The Suharto dictatorship often boasted of
"road development" in occupied East Timor. In fact, road
network expansion was largely aimed at facilitating military
access to exploitable resources and expanding military
operations into the hinterlands.

The failure of the Indonesian government to provide
essential health services to the Papuan population of West
Papua has been repeatedly documented and, arguably, leaves
the Jakarta government open to charges of ethnic genocide.
This calculated, malign neglect in the area of basic health
services extends to provision for education. A revealing
January 31
Jakarta Globe report notes that Papua's
illiteracy rate among those aged 15 years and under was 32
percent, the highest in the nation, according to data from
the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) in 2010. That figure has
increased steadily since 2007, when it was 25 percent, going
up to 28 percent in 2008 and 30 in 2009.

The failure of the Indonesian government to
provide essential health services to the Papuan
population of West Papua has been repeatedly
documented and, arguably, leaves the Jakarta
government open to charges of ethnic genocide.
This calculated, malign neglect in the area of
basic health services extends to provision for
education.

The Globe report, by Banjir Ambarita and
Mary Anugrah Rasita, underscores that the Jakarta
government's failure to educate young Papuans is not only a
problem in remote rural areas. The reporters visited a state
elementary school in Jayapura (Port Numbay) and found
extensive illiteracy. Nella Manaku, headmaster of Holtekamp
Elementary School acknowledged that 50 percent of the
students there could neither read nor write. The reporters
observed that many fifth- and sixth-grade students were just
at able to be taught how to write.

The headmaster blamed the high illiteracy rate on a lack of
teachers at saying that were just five instructors for the
more than 100 students. Moreover, "Three of them are
permanent and the others are contract teachers, but they
rarely show up for work," he said. He explained that he had
repeatedly applied to the Jayapura Education Agency for more
teachers, but to no avail. "For several years now we've been
asking for help, but there's never been a response from the
authorities," he said. Kayus Bahabol, a provincial
legislator, told the Globe that the high illiteracy rate was
not the only issue the school was dealing with. "Educational
facilities here are badly lacking.... Livestock wander all
over the place and leaving their droppings everywhere," he
said.

Kenius Kogoya, another provincial legislator, said the
Holtekamp case was just the tip of the iceberg. "If things
can get this bad at a school in Jayapura, a major city,
imagine what it's like at schools in rural areas," he said.
"The government always likes to claim that regional autonomy
has been a blessing for development in Papua, but this is
highly questionable."

Arief Rachman, an education expert who chairs the National
Commission for UNESCO, agreed that the low level of
development in the province was the main culprit for the
high illiteracy rate. Darmaningtyas, an education expert
from the Taman Siswa school network, told the Globe that the
problem of teacher shortages was a long-standing one in
Papua. He urged the government to give priority to
infrastructure development to improve the distribution of
books and other school supplies across Papua, "because right
now we lack the channels to get the appropriate reading
materials to the students there."

Media reports reveal that the Indonesian government is
moving forward with plans to create a new province in the
western portion of the island of New Guinea controlled by
Indonesia. According to a January 20 report in the
Cenderawasih Pos Jakarta the central government is
moving forward with the creation of "Central Papua" sometime
in 2012. The province will have 10 districts: Supiori, Biak
Numfor, Yapen Islands, Waropen, Nabire, Dogiyai, Deiyai,
Intan Jaya, Paniai and Mimika.

The formation of a new province re-opens a contentious legal
and political debate over the division of the land Papuans
consider "West Papua" into two entities, Papua and West
Papua a decade ago. That division was described as illegal
by the Indonesian courts but inexplicably was allowed to
stand as a fait accompli. Many Papuans have resisted the
division of Papuan territory, arguing that the action fails
to take into account their political aspirations, in
particular, their pursuit of self determination. Moreover,
Papuans and many observers have argued that the creation of
new administrative subdivisions absorb funds that are
critically needed to provide essential services in the areas
of medical care, education and social/cultural development.
Rather, they argue, creation of new administrative entities
amounts to top-down development which favors creation of
massive new "development" undertakings which advantage
corporate interests, usually to the grave disadvantage of
local development.

Creation of such new administrative entities also creates
"perches" for the expansion of the security force
establishment, further diverting funds and broadening and
deepening the militarization of Papuan lands.